Headache Diary Information

Headache diaries or journals are excellent resources in order to determine the cause and management of debilitating headaches or migraines. Sharing this diary with your doctor can also help him or her decide on your treatment.

Types

• Headache diaries can be as simple as a pen and notebook or as detailed as diary software. Several free headache diaries are available online.

Pain Content

• According to the National Headache Foundation, each entry about a headache should include what happened right before the pain started, the intensity level of the pain, and how long the pain lasted.

Treatment Content

• Notes should include what type of conventional or alternative treatments were used to stop the pain and if the treatments were successful.

Women

• Women should note where they are in their menstrual cycle or if they are going through menopause. According to Menstrual Migraine (Susan Hutchinson, et al; 2008), drops in estrogen may be responsible for some migraines in women.

Other Details

• Optional details to list are the weather conditions, what you ate prior to the headache, if you started a new medication (and if so, write down the name) and if you had a good night's sleep.